Further economic measures on Russia

The EU adopted a new package of restrictive measures targeting sectoral cooperation and exchanges with Russia to enter into force on 12 September.

At a special meeting of the European Council on 30 August, EU leaders strongly condemned the presence and actions of Russian armed forces on the Ukrainian territory and called for preparatory work on further economic sanctions.

In view of the gravity of the situation, the Council decided to take further restrictive measures against Russia and to reinforce the measures adopted on 31 July.

As requested by the European Council, the Commission and the EEAS presented to COREPER on 3rd September a set of enhanced measure related to access to capital markets, defence, dual use goods, and sensitive technologies.

The selection and assessment of the options considered for this second round of economic sanctions followed the same criteria which guided the work on the previous package. The package agreed in July was in fact designed to be scaled up if necessary.

On 8 September, these restrictions were formally adopted by the Council through a written procedure.

In a statement, Herman Van Rompuy indicated that they will apply upon their publication in the EU Official Journal on 12 September.

He also stated that COREPER will asses the implementation of the peace plan in Ukraine by the end of the month. Sanctions could be amended, suspended or repealed in whole or in part depending on the conclusions of this assessment.